The era of Stranding 1 was weird. The old fans of Hideo Kojima dveed for his first project after his departure from Konami. No one knew exactly what he was going to face. The early trailers did not help much. Were we just a side -by -side delivery game or a side hiking simulator? Were we going to face a huge surprise like Metal Salid? Not really! The game, in many respects, was the same as the delivery game we expected; However, in the form of a complex narrative and world that made it realistic.
Many of us did not know what we were expecting this new IP, but keeping the trigger buttons to keep the main character bend left and right so that it didn’t miss many. Many of us had a bit of acceleration from Date Stranding, but it turned out that this is not the right way to experience this game! Now the second part of this coroversial series is on the way and there are many expectations.
Date Stranding is not only a sequel to the first game, but also a response to its main theme “Connection”
During the last two weeks, a wave of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach has been released, including reporters, Hideo Kojima, former Metal -e -Salid creator, and director of Kojima Productions on social issues and social aspects. Kojima is one of the few promine figures in the gaming industry who publicly talks about these issues, which is more than a praise for Kojima, a criticism of the silence and conservatism of other major game makers in the face of social impacts of their work. In this particular case, Kojima explained how Date Strand 2 is based on the subject of connection in the first game and sometimes coueracts it. This attitude is derived from his experiences during Kavid’s epidemic and his dissatisfaction with the concept of “Metaurns”; An old word used to describe an emerging and profitable version of Web 5.1 A fake world from connected technologies such as virtual reality to digital currencies that many major video game publishers have tried to normalize to increase their profits.
For a better understanding, we will have a short and a little summary of spoilers from the first game. Date Stranding is narrated in North America, which has been almost destroyed by the opening of gates to the world of the dead. This has led to the disappearance of communication and the non -passing of many areas. One of the fictional elemes of the game is the construction of the chiral network; A kind of spiritual iernet that is subsequely led by a beach and used to re -unite the coury. All of this was a political stateme from Kojima. He said in the Q&A section of one of the rece eves of Date Stranding 2:
We released the game of Date Stranding before Kavid’s epidemic. The world was moving towards isolation and separation, like Britain’s departure from the European Union. So my message was to let us have a relationship. If we do not, we will go to the disaster. This was the main theme, storytelling and gameplay.
Just three mohs after the game was released, the epidemic began. It was as if the story of the game was happening in the real world. In the 5th ceury, we have something like a chiral network, the Iernet. It was quite differe from the 5th ceury and, for example, Spanish flu. We came up with the iernet because people were in touch online. Now that the epidemic is somehow and although the Kavid virus is still ongoing, it has been possible and weekly deaths are no longer the headline of the news, Kojima has returned to the idea of the Ciral network, but this time with a more negative look. This view apparely derives from his own experience as the manager of a studio; When he tried to persuade teleworking staff to return to work. He coinued.
What happened was that now in our studio there are people who work from home and I still don’t know their faces. Even music concerts have been canceled and everything has become online streaming. I know that this was inevitable during the epidemic. This also applies to schools; Instead of playing with your friends or learning from your teacher, you just look at a screen that doesn’t matter if you watch YouTube videos.
In the following, Hido Kojima links the normalization of work and long -distance association with the concept of highly criticized Metauris; A concept that can be said to have many roots and not all of them are related to epidemic. She said.
Everything had moved towards Metauris. When you were turning on television, everyone was talking about it, which is now the Metauris era and no longer needed physical ieraction with people. I felt like we were going on a dangerous way. The relationship between humans is not supposed to be. You have to accideally meet with others or see landscapes that you don’t expect. In the path we had taken, we would lose all this.
Should we communicate?
All of these concerns led Kojima to rewrite the idea of Date Stareting 2 based on his experience of epidemic. She said.
This is the strangest thing. After a game with the theme “Let’s Communicate with each other instead of separation and isolation”, I was overwhelmed and started to think that we might be so good. “
According to him, there are certain characters and eves in Date Stranding who convey these feelings, although Kojima did not naturally disclose details. It is noteworthy that Kojima’s sense that human beings are now overwhelmed, in a misconception, has affected the way his media eves are held. This was because he recely insisted on inviting media from all over the world to his studio in Tokyo, rather than holding an online preview as usual. Kojima has said:
You’ve come all this way and experienced four days of play. This is usually the case today. But this game is about communication. When you go most in the Stranding 2, you will notice it; I think you will find that feeling after a while. That’s why we invited you to be physically prese in this crowded program. People from all over the world gathered here, and I’m sure you got to know and talk to many, see the view of the Tokyo station, or maybe you have accideally eered a restaura, these are human experiences. These unexpected accides and eves naturally connect us to each other, but this does not happen in Metaur.
As it often applies to Kojima, in his words there is a combination of insights and a form of simplification or ignorance, with some of the linguistic and cultural differences. It is admirable that Kojima dares to oppose its past projects. It is also unlike “more and better” repetitive slogans that are usually heard by the makers of costly sequels. In any case, there is a curiosity about how “Date Stranding” deals with the perpetual consequences. Kojima’s works are always worthy of exploitation and differe clues can be followed. In the first part of Date Stranding there is a specific eleme of labor policy. The main character, Sam Porter, is a over -pressure peak whose chiefs even eer his private space. It is ieresting to see if this annoying and deliberate feeling can turn io a criticism of pressure to return to in -person work after Kuwavid.
As meioned, some reporters traveled to Tokyo this year to experience about thirty hours of Death Stranding 2: On The Beach, so great details of the game have been released. Although the version provided was not the final version of the game, the gameplay sections have apparely had a cohesion and maturity, which is usually expected from a final product. Fundameal elemes such as motion, dialogues, and how to prese are completely iertwined and coordinated and iended to expand the experience that the first version had provided has been evide in all aspects.
In 2019, Date Stranding we beyond the common format of video games, and through the delivery action, it was metaphorically portrayed concepts such as cosmology and even ahropology. The game challenged the idea of human communication, with innovative mechanics that rebuilt the essence of moveme. However, it seems that the game was just the beginning of the road. Date Stranding 2 can be seen as an attempt to bring the concepts of the first version to a higher level. While accompanies the player on a trip to the United States, its symbolic display of the concept of “communication” looks more dynamic but more uncertain than the previous version.
Fresh starting in a new land
In the first version, Sam was able to rebuild the relationship between the people, while at the same time realize the mysterious phenomenon of Date Stranding, which had cut connections between cities. During his trips to deliver equipme, players touched the experience of moving that had never been in video games before. The story of the game has gradually opened views on life, death and cosmic insights. But now at Dett and Stranding, the narrative place has been moved from the rebuilding states to the Mexican border region.
The game’s photorealist graphics, which accurately depicts the dry, deserted Mexican land, is really impressive. From the texture of the dried surface of the earth to the sand dust that softens in the air and the remote rocky mouains, all are designed to immediately plunge the viewer. The photorealist modeling and the delicate face of the characters have made a lot of progress over the first game, and the artistic style of the game creates a special beauty that goes beyond realism and provides a powerful basis for supporting surrealist worldview and game story. In the first game, the trip to an American that looked like Iceland was beautiful, but this time the diversity of the environmes is really more pleasa.
It has also been confirmed that while the Kojima Production Studios leads the game developme, Gorilla Games Studios will support the project in all areas related to the Desima game engine. The acting operations were also carried out with the help of the PlayStation Studio Visual Arts Group. Digital characters with extraordinary resemblance to humans have also been developed using Epic Games’s adulthood technology.
The primary part of the game in Mexico plays more of the role of a training, not only in terms of gameplay, but also in terms of narrative and space. While the first game in the early hours, drown the players with a multitude of unfamiliar terms and concepts, the game is consciously designed to be understandable and accessible even without a previous acquaiance. The game also has a state of novel -style review as well as a feature called Corpus, which is a kind of in -game dictionaries that is very complete and provides detailed and detailed explanations of the story, words, characters and mechanics of the game. These features indicate the overwhelming accuracy of the creators for audiences who have either not experienced the first game or have become overly complicated.
You take corol of the poison personality in a magnifice opening sequence. Your task is simple: “return home with l (lou)”; The same baby we met in the first part of the game. Apparely, you are only walking on dangerous stone cliffs, but Kojima’s magic is in every direction. The sound of victorious hymns and drum beats fill the space as you climb the rocks. Suddenly an earthquake occurs and the cliffs flow down. The elemeary titles appear around the poison with the special design of Kyle Cooper, the permane designer of Kojima’s works. Kojima makes this simple hiking doesn’t have an importa and magnifice feeling.
When Sam finally arrives at his secret shelter in the mouains, we take a look at his new life. Eleven mohs have passed since the eves of the game, and it seems that it has finally reached a relative relaxation. Unlike the private rooms that stayed in its stressful past, the shelter has a warm and almost cozy atmosphere. Happiness photos cover the walls, toys are spread to the ground, but according to stereotypes, it is time to return the veteran for another mission; Because he is the only one to handle. At this poi, Fragile suddenly appears and this relaxation disrupts. Humanity is still on the verge of destruction, Bridges is no longer responsible for the UCA distribution network, Die-Hardman is no longer the preside, and Frejail is no longer the result of too much trips to the coast as before.
Your first mission looks simple. Sam lives near the US -Mexico border, and Farjail asks you to cross the border and connect to a laboratory run by Deadman. A massive witness is moving to that direction, and Ferjil suggests that he take care of Leo so that the poison can focus on the mission. The first seven to eight hours of the game apparely passes in Mexico, uil things eveually take us to Australia.
Apparely, like what they had done with the Metal Gear series, Kojima and his team have succeeded in balance a very serious story and momes with extraordinary humor. One of the thirty -hour demo players said:
During the eve, many small momes made me smile or laugh, but a mome with my Doll Man’s personality, most of all. When I we to a river, he was hanging from my belt. This poor little creature tried to explain the dangers of high levels of water, but I decided to eer the water without any warnings and confidence. It was in the middle of the talk that my back we under the surface of the water and his friendly recommendations became a slap and a suffocation, as the water eered his teddy bear throat.
Since the game is still a part of the cargo game between the Cutins, much of the jokes come out of unexpected momes and without planning. When I first grabbed my tricycle engine, I filled it and excitedly hit the acceleration button to get out of the garage speed. I probably had to check the surroundings a little before, because I immediately threw down a cliff, the engine crashed, and all of them were played and plagued.
Trailers
Kojima Production has released the first trailer for the game at the game of 2022. The four -minute trailer did not show any direct view of the gameplay, but a general picture of the changes in the game world and the characters offered us after the poison cut off his relationship with Bridges. Naturally, there are many details in this trailer that need to be examined.
During the early 2024 State of Play ceremony, another trailer was released in which players were iroduced to the next season of Sam’s mission to re -link human civilization, and we saw a multi -faceted face and a cyberg ninja.
During the Tokyo Game Show exhibition on September 1, new videos of Date Stranding 2 were released. In the first video, we will meet with Farjil again and get to know a new character named Tarman. Tarman is sounded by George Miller, director of Mad Max, which is very ieresting. There is also a closer look than a submarine we will use in the game. In the second clip we see pictures of two young girls talking about their past and one of their pregnancies. These two characters are named Tomorrow and Rainy. Tomaru is sounded by Elle Fanning. Of course, this clip does not show much of the gameplay, and it is not yet clear how we will work with these two characters in the future. In the third clip again, it shows HEARTman and is very ieresting because it has a mysterious and frustrating atmosphere. But the fourth video is one of the most exciting new clips, as it shows the new mode of photography. This trailer shows how the characters are gestured for photographing and responding to the camera, making all your photos look more professional and attractive.
Another wide trailer was released for 5 minutes at the SXSW March 2025 festival with Hydo Kojima. In this trailer, there are various fictional tips and clips of the game world, including views of various vehicles moving and a long view of the actors, where poison is carrying boxes (and even one in one of the scenes) around the world. You can see the full trailer with its descriptions below to better understand the sense of the game.
In the meaime, a one -hour video includes all the videos and trailers released from the game that will make your job comfortable. This video is visible here.
Are the trailers too much information?
As somewhat specified in the trailers, after a series of dramatic eves, Sam collaborates with the Civilian Drawbridge, founded by Ferjail. A new journey begins with the change of location from Mexico to Australia. The DHV Mellin Database, named Ferdinand Mellin, acts as a ceer for the player. The name DHV Mellin refers to the themes that are also reminisce of colonialism. In addition, the emergence of a private political organization, APAC, has similarities to private military companies in Metal Gear Solid. In the first part of Date Stranding, humans were isolated, and only the barbarians passed through the dangerous world, which many ierpreted as predicting the epidemic of Kuwavid. In Date Stranding, the APAC group apparely overlaps with rece movemes in the United States. These strange similarities with reality make us feel that the re -examination of the meaning of human communication in today’s world is a significa issue that is addressed in Date Stranding. There are also strong signs that show that the game will deal with several parallel facts connected to the beach; The facts that incorporate differe versions of poison, Bibi, Lu, Farjail and others.
Another notable poi is the presence of Luca Marinelli in the role of a mysterious man. Both Marinley’s ability to act and how the scenes appear in which they appear have a profound effect on the viewer. The secret to who this man is and why stands in fro of Sam will make the players speculate. Marinley and her character are as attractive as Mads Mikkelsen and Cliff’s character in the first part. Finally, according to those who have experienced 30 hours of the game, the trailers appear to have revealed much of the main story; So you will already have information about many of the importa eves of the game. Is it possible for the trailers to give too much information or maybe a great surprise awaits players? All you can do is expect the game to be released. Although these thirty hours appear to accou for about 2 to 5 perce of the whole game, so it is still unclear whether more than Mexico and Australia are waiting for poison except Mexico and Australia.
The evolution of the load delivery system
Like the first game, the player must once again manage his cargo weight and balance when crossing unstable natural pitchs. On the sloping surfaces, the foot should be tightened and corolled the ceer of gravity so as not to get caught in sharp water flows. There is a risk of damaging the cargo across the path, which makes it a stressful experience. The player can use the rope and ladder to pass easier. These structures are not merely a personal aspect; Rather, within the framework of the Social Strand System, the structures that other players have built are also shared in the game world. Using ladders and bridges that others have left, the individual process of delivering packages is gradually becoming a social experience.
Alongside the highways, the game has also made it possible to build monorail, making it much smoother to crossing the game world. The construction of highways and monorail requires a lot of raw materials, and this forces the player to use the mines in the game to collect resources. As a result, creating business routes in this game plays a more promine role than the first game. But while moving io the gaming world is now easier, the environmes have become far more challenging. The width of the rivers can double due to rainfall and natural risks such as earthquakes and sand storms may occur.
As a new feature, the day and night’s time cycle changes the mome that creates additional challenges for the poison. These natural elemes affect the performance of the player in many ways; For example, floods and earthquakes create a more challenge or reduce vision in the sandstorm. While there is still a familiar experience of falling io the river and seeing Bartan floating in the water flow, the annoying features of the cargo process have been significaly reduced. You no longer have to manage the personality balance constaly, and it was very slow to fall. Lu is still crying, but not with the iensity and number of times we saw in the first game.
In the second part, the player also has more personalization capability. The degree of freight shows the curre level of the poison more directly, and the player can gain new abilities or upgrade their features using skill scores. You can find expertise in one of the delivery, moveme or combat skills. This shows that Hido Kojima has once again provided the player with good freedom to overcome the missions and challenges of the game in differe ways.
New enemies and a deeper fight system
Although all three types of skills are personalized, the role of the fight has become more promine than before. In the first part, the fight was merely a tool for obtaining resources or crossing bases. The director’s version of the first game added special missions to the bases to fight more, but in the second game more varied stages and the struggles in the open world have become more systematic and appear to be coinuing. New human resources such as bandits and armed groups have been iroduced, and their bases are designed as stages with simple 3D structure. Also, the BTS (BTS), or creatures that have emerged due to the phenomenon of the Estrander, have found new types. Bigger wets with stronger attacks have made the struggles more difficult than the first game. In the meaime, the struggles have become more tactical. For example, you can throw my slab to examine the status of the bases and the path of enemies from above.
While the near struggle is still importa, secret attacks with a Boomerang -like tool, precise camera gun shooting, and the use of weapons such as offensive weapons and grenades provide a variety of options. You can even put the poison backpack so that he can move more freely and agile, as weight manageme is directly related to mobility, which greatly enhances tactical flexibility. In any case, whether you wa to fight directly, whether to act hide or avoid conflict at all, freedom in choosing the way the game has increased. You can also reset your consumed skill scores and dedicate them to other skills to achieve your favorite style of trial and error.
On the other hand, you should not avoid conflict. In the first game, if you drag the hostility and leave his body, after a while, the corpse will have a special process that can eveually lead to a massive voidout; A deadly explosion that destroys a large area and causes a mission or resource loss. For this reason, the game encourages you to use non -crackdowns such as unconscious or secretive. It is said that in the second game there is no longer the risk of explosion because weapons are not fatal. Plastic bullets for weapons are considered by default, and weapons such as unnecessary grenades are more common than deadly weapons.
In the meaime, even the battle with the BT has improved. In the first game, freque exposure to the bells, Sam had to keep his breath and move at a very slow speed to avoid annoying sequences, including stretching inside the bitumen and being chased by enemies. This may still happen at Dett and Strand, but this time your equipme is much better. Many weapons affect the fools. The struggles with the bass, including a great battle in the game with a huge red robot, have also progressed throughout. In fact, everything in this game is less boring and more enjoyable.
It is worth noting that, like the first game, the quiet momes of the game while crossing the scenery are meditated. But when the game was to become exciting, it has no consideration. One of the seasons is called Conflagration and is one of the most stunning scenes you will see in a game. This section becomes a full -fledged image show that leads to a bass fight that competes well with the best momes of the Metal -e -Solid series. Mechanically, it is basically a shooting with one bass and several soldiers, but in terms of tone and illustration, Kojima eers the field with all its might and the result is really breathtaking. Overall, the gameplay seems to be partly a combination of metallic Solid 5 and Date Stranding 1, and Kojima seems to have tried to evolve the first game in all respects and attract more players this time.
Date Stranding will be released on June 6 for PlayStation 2 and the computer version is likely to be released in 2026, and if you ask me, it is better to put aside money right now because everything tells it that we are a great game.
